The Best Music Videos of the Month (August 2015)

Director: David Gallardo

The video for Daye Jack's "Save My Soul" is a study in contrasts. There are only two shots, but they're so meticulously arranged that every drop of paint and reflective glimmer seem to jump out of the screen.

The artist is making a habit of shooting creative, thought-provoking videos ("Easy" is required viewing), and this time around Daye Jack has stripped away all of the excess and created something unforgettable.

Director: David Wilson

In their video for "Let It Happen," Tame Impala begs the question: what do we see when we die? Rather than get tangled up in religious imagery, however, the band approached the question from one man's experience.

Our guy is late to the airport, and the resulting anxiety pushes his ticker over the edge. As he collapses in the airport lobby, the visions start to come.

The heart attack takes us to multiple dimensions, surreal scenes replete with talking sandwiches and plane crashes that no one seems to notice. It's a gorgeous piece of filmmaking that, thankfully, doesn't try to answer the Big Questions behind our main character's departure. We just have to let it happen.

Director: Calmatic

Anderson.Paak may have gotten a huge boost from his frequent appearances on Dr. Dre's Compton, but there's a reason he was chosen. "Suede" is one of Paak's classic tracks from way back, and it received an equally upbeat, retro-cool video this month.

Performing as one half of NxWorries (Knxwledge handles production duties and drives some sleek rides in the video), Paak cruises around the neighborhood, uncorks some dance moves in front of a white picket fence, and manages a no-frills video feel swanky with just his infectious charisma.

Director: Taylor Johnson

Earl Sweatshirt uses his videos as a chance to speak directly to his audience. They're defined by Earl's presence: he faces the camera down to let his stories unfold from the horse's mouth.

The results range from hellish to breathtaking, and "Off Top" is the next level.

Earl has turned to animation, bringing a drawing style similar to Killer Mike's iconic "Reagan." But rather than systemic societal oppression, Earl's visions are contorted by personal demons—these days, they're taking the shape of abusive pig-cops.

Director: Emmanuel Cossu x Fleur & Manu

A$AP Rocky went deep for this one. First off, there's the horrifying fat suit. Then there's the Sunset Boulevard references and the appearances by Miguel, Mark Ronson, and Rod Stewart. Rod is especially convincing as a concerned friend, making phone calls to Rocky's bloated mass to try to drag him out of the doldrums.

It's a grim process, imagining oneself as a fat, washed-up has-been. But Rocky pulls it off, splicing the dark dream with shots from his current dream life—he locks lips with a model, hits the club, and drives around with the top down after the shocking opening shot. Still, it's the botched plastic surgeries I'll remember.

Director: Jeremy Cole

Little Simz went all the way in for her "Dead Body" video. As the title suggests, it's a collection of brutal, violent images—but it's not the blood and gore you might expect. Simz and her director, Jeremy Cole, are able to find the chilling horror of stillness: the aftermath of violence.

Black birds circle across an empty sky. Simz, clad in a mask and dark robes, rattles off her menacing lines to a mirror. A dead body lies undisturbed in a desolate field. The British rapper is tapping into her inner visions, and they're a sight to behold.

Director: shy kids

Toronto's shy kids may be musicians at the moment, but they have a career waiting in the animation game. For their "® o c k e t s" video, the band photographed hundreds of candies to create an entire world, complete with a main character (an orange Sour Patch Kid) and a horribly dark, apocalyptic storyline.

It goes like this: the candy world is doomed, thanks to a meteor (played by Everlasting Gobstopper) that's headed straight for their wafer skyscrapers. Orange doesn't take the news too well—he spirals down into a deep depression that leads him to the strip club.

Orange decides he needs a change after a rough night blowing lines with gummy bears in the back room. He comes to and heads out to the forest to die in peace, presumably, but instead finds a tower of bubble gum. I won't spoil the end for you, but suffice to say it is horrifying and looks delicious.

Watch the video below, followed by the BTS animation explainer.

Director: Nick Walker

Mac Miller's main role in the video for "100 Grandkids" is as the man in the moon. He first appears rapping above a children's play, the stage full of animal costumes.

The second time, he's appears in the flesh, nestled amongst the kids in their costumes, looking like a mafiosa with some Mighty Mouse muscle. These two roles are the current poles of Mac Miller's star power: he is simultaneously leading the pack and discovering his role within it, blissfully torn between impending adulthood and the youthful creativity that's led him this far.

But being torn doesn't mean Mac has to choose sides. On the contrary, as he approaches the release of what could be a career-defining album, the Pittsburgh rapper seems more at ease than ever. He's said that the budget for the "100 Grandkids" video was bigger than anything he'd helmed before. The fact that the resulting visuals remain inventive and original without verging towards extravagance is a great sign that Mac has a hold on his artistic vision. It's a simple, elegant, and positive debut video for the album.

Director: Joe Weil & The Little Homies

Kendrick Lamar is sticking to the script. His To Pimp A Butterfly possesses a unique appeal, able to surprise the listener by stopping on a dime and throwing something completely different between your ears.

Compared to the relentless rally cry of "Alright," the "For Free" interlude was an unhinged moment of free verse over free jazz on TPAB, and the video follows suit. Kendrick spends his verses chasing his luxurious prey around a decadent mansion, popping up around corners like a demented leprechaun.

The video is crazy fun and just a little terrifying, masterfully edited within an inch of its life. The sequences fly by, and it's worth watching a second time to catch what you originally missed.

Director: FKA twigs

Not that we'd expect anything less, but FKA twigs' latest visual epic is incredible. Five tracks and sixteen minutes long, the M3LL155X EP is comes with a short film.

The visuals runs the gamut from ink-black eerie (opener "Figure 8" features Michèle Lamy in all her bejeweled glory) to horrifying ("I'm Your Doll") to empowering and euphoric ("In Time").

twigs returns to a couple of her preferred motifs: she's visibly pregnant in the EP's last two songs ("In Time" and "Glass & Patron"), which she sees as a reclamation of innate beauty: "Whenever I see a pregnant woman, I always think she’s so beautiful and so sexy. I would argue anyone into the ground who says a woman’s not beautiful or sexy when she’s pregnant. It’s a miracle. How can you say that anything else is better than that? So I just wanted to experience that prematurely.”

There are stunning dance sequences throughout, and twigs once again sets the bar ever higher for the rest of the music world. No one else is on her level in terms of singular artistic execution and visual innovation.